‘Peas In The Pod’: DeSantis Slams Newsom’s Xi Visit

While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 Republican presidential primary bid appears to be fizzling out, his rivalry with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom remains in full swing.

About a month before the two governors were scheduled to debate on Fox News with host Sean Hannity serving as the moderator, DeSantis offered a scathing critique of Newsom’s decision to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Citing a perceived similarity between their “draconian COVID policies,” the Florida governor called DeSantis and Xi “two peas in the pod.”

Newsom met with the communist leader of China last week, providing fuel for the criticism DeSantis unleashed during a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“They both had very lengthy lockdowns, curtailed people’s ability to work, go to school, all that,” he said of Newsom and Xi. 

DeSantis went on to compare his state favorably to California, noting that a growing number of people have left the Golden State in recent years to move to Florida. 

“I know California, because a lot of people have fled to Florida because of what he did,” DeSantis added.

Campaign reports show that Newsom spent more than $100,000 on ads that aired in Florida last year, prompting DeSantis spokesperson Dave Abrams to declare that the California governor “might as well light a pile of cash on fire.”

He provided a theory regarding why Newsom was so keen on delivering his leftist message to people living in the Sunshine State.

“Pass the popcorn for his desperate attempt to win back the California refugees who fled the hellhole he created in his state to come to Florida,” Abrams said.

DeSantis has also offered his take on the environment that Newsom’s policies have created. In a social media statement last month touting his White House ambitions, he wrote: “Decline is a choice and success is attainable. As President, I will lead America’s revival. I look forward to the opportunity to debate Gavin Newsom over our very different visions for the future of our country.”

More recently, he signaled excitement for the forthcoming debate, telling the Daily Mail that it “will be fun, it will be a good debate for the country to have.”